'Color Purple' actress inspired by stage greats

By R. Scott Reedy, Correspondent

Tuesday

Nov 21, 2017 at 8:00 AMNov 22, 2017 at 10:35 AM

Playing Celie in the first North American tour of the Tony Award-winning Broadway revival of “The Color Purple” – which opens at Boston’s Boch Center Shubert Theatre on Nov. 21 – Adrianna Hicks knows that she is following some heavy hitters in the role.

Whoopi Goldberg earned an Academy Award nomination as best actress in a leading role when she originated the part of the oppressed black woman in Steven Spielberg’s 1985 feature film of the same name, based on Alice Walker’s Pulitzer Prize-winning 1982 novel.

The Broadway musical adaptation of “The Color Purple” – with book by Marsha Norman and music and lyrics by Stephen Bray, Brenda Russell, and Allee Willis – earned Tony Awards for best performance by a leading actress in a musical for LaChanze in the original 2005 production, and for Cynthia Erivo in the 2015 revival.

“It’s truly an honor to get to play this role. This is my first tour and I didn’t expect to land this role. I’m so grateful and honored to be the lead in this production. I would have been happy to be offered any role,” explained Hicks by telephone recently from a Des Moines, Iowa, tour stop.

A Texas native who earned a BFA in musical theater from the University of Oklahoma, Hicks moved to Austria after appearing in “Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story on Stage.” She then lived in Germany for four years, appearing in shows including “Legally Blonde: The Musical,” “Sister Act” and “Ragtime.”

Returning home to the U.S., Hicks became a swing in the Broadway revival of “The Color Purple” which originated at London’s Menier Chocolate Factory in 2013, staying with the show for its entire 483-performance New York run.

“Whoopi Goldberg, LaChanze, and Cynthia Erivo have all inspired me. It is from them that I have learned what to do, and what not to do. Having the opportunity to watch Cynthia play Celie every night on Broadway was an amazing, invaluable experience,” says Hicks.

“They inspire me but I can never be them. I have to be myself. We’ve been out since early last month, and I’ve been learning how to stay calm and hold a show for a long period of time. This show is a piece of art. And art changes lives. I never forget that.”

It is a lesson she learned early in life.

“I feel like it’s always been in my blood to do this. As a little girl, I would spend every free moment in my room watching ‘The Lion King,’ ‘Pocahontas,’ and ‘Aladdin,’ and learning every line,” recalls the 28-year-old.

That youthful Disney intensive came in handy for the performer recently.

“I made my Disney debut this summer in the Broadway production of ‘Aladdin.’ I took over for one month as the Fortune Teller and Jasmine’s Attendant. Every night was like a dream. The whole experience was just beautiful.”

With “The Color Purple,” Hicks is now helping to bring a very different story, with its own beauty, to life. Celie’s 40-year journey takes place in rural Georgia in the early to mid-20th century. Abused by her father, Alphonso, Celie eventually marries the also cruel Mister, and brings up his unruly children. Along the way, she is separated from her beloved sister, Nettie.

“Whenever I think of Celie, the first words that come to mind to describe her are ‘authentic’ and ‘genuine.’ She is optimistic and goes on with her life, despite being dealt one difficult hand after another.

“She rises up from the abuse, faces life, and is changed by the people she encounters along the way. It is almost like the hand of God has always been over her, although she doesn’t realize that until later in her life,” explains Hicks.

Under the direction of John Doyle, the revival focuses on Celie and her longing for the absent Nettie. It also eschews any on-stage technology that might pull attention from the heart of the story.

“The show’s been stripped to its true core, with the songs telling the story. I love ‘Miss Celie’s Pants,’ which is wonderful and empowering, but my favorite has to be ‘I’m Here.’ That song really captures Celie at a very important moment in her life.

“She sings, ‘I don’t need anyone to love me.’ That’s a huge statement, especially now when we think the number of followers we have on social media are what give us significance,” says Hicks. “And for her to also be able to say ‘I am beautiful’ is very powerful.”

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